Durham daily recorder., 1887-05-14

and spoons upon the tin plates are deafen-
ing. The customers belong to the laboring
classes, and most of them arc dressed in linen
blouses of red, white or blue. Here, group
of masons, in their loose white blouses,
wide pantaloons of the same color, and high
crowned black caps, are debating, or rather,
after the French custom, gesticulating about
an article one of them has just been reading
in newspaper. Yonder, a few women are
having vociferous quarrel further of, two
youngsters, in blouses too, and with their
hands in their spacious pockets, are paying
attentions to young girl in very short skirts,
who is a street-dancer and has just gone
through her performance in an out-of-the-
way corner. Beggars walk between the
tables, pickpockets are watching their OPP
portunity, small boys fight, street-acrobats
perform their feats, and organ-grinders add
their squeaking noise to the tumult by muir
dering popular airs. Hark one organ starts
to play The Marseillaise. The other mu-
sicians let their cranks rest, and all present
Join enthusiastically in q loud "Allons, enfdnts
de Ia patrier accompanying themselves in
very ridiculously unwarrior-like manner, by
beating time with spoons and forks. Now
and then the voice Of some patriot may
be heard shouting above the others: "Away
Nth the Prussians n or, "VivG Ia repubiiQue,"
and few will vent their patriotic feelings
by wildly dancing about, shouting and way
ing their caps, while the current of air
catches under their loose blouses, making
them appear twice as big as they are, and
causing them to look quite awful; but soon
some other occurrence attracts attention, and,
with French levity and changeability, they
interrupt the excited show of patriotism, and
once again tinSle and clatter away with their
spoons, as if they were being paid for max
ing the greatest possible noise while eating.
There are always some half dozen or more
wretches eagerly watching for any customer
to finish his meal; as soon as he rises they
make rush for the remnants he leaves. As
said above, there are no walters, but score
of sturdy, experienced men are employed to
keep order and to put any misbehaving fell
low out of doors. A few police officers, too,
are on duty here. One of the latter pointed
out to me an old, blind man. and told me to
watch him. So Ibid, and who can paint my
anna ,ment when saw that the dog which
guided his steps was trained to lead,
nay, to pull him by the string from nook to
corner, from table to table, to every spot
where bone or fragment of bread was
lying on the floor2 Then the blind man,
grayhead, too, would stoop, take the bone
out of his dogs mouth, and, faugh! eat
whatever there was left on it. would have
offered him some money but for the police
officers telling me that the man had been
living in this manner for years, persistently
refusing to accept any gift.
Establishments like these use enormous
supplies. A hundred oxen, twice as many
calves and lambs, thousand rabbits and
scores of barrels of good native wine are
consumed in the largest establishments of
this kind every month.
1t is six o'clock in the evening. Dusk is
setting in, and we are walking in one of